A substitute White Christmas!

Snow in central Florida? HA!  Not going to happen, BUT...Mother Nature provided a cold front this week to get us into the Holiday spirit and when I awoke the other morning I was greeted by the frost giving the illusion of the potential for a White Christmas!   As I gathered the firewood and started up the fireplace for the first time this magical season, it really felt like Christmas in the Northeast, except I could wear sandals once the sun came out.  :)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, relatively speaking. I personally like spring when the garden is reawakening from winter, the birds start their nest building and everything seems to "green up". But, given that Christmas is a favorite of many, I'll digress and stick with the cliché. I'll also send you to Christmas's past (and present) to reiterate my holiday thoughts in my native plant garden.

At Native Plant and Wildlife Garden Blog:

2012 Revising the 12 Days of Christmas

At the Beautiful Wildlife Garden Blog:

2011 In the Wildlife Garden, Naughty or Nice?

2010 Choose a Gift FOR Nature

My Christmas card choice this year is Dogfennel shown in the photo above. I was taken with just how much it looked like a fir tree.

May 2013 bring us a more environmentally conscious government who will care more about our quality of life over how much money they can gain to "grow" the county. New development with the current excess housing availability makes no sense. Why not work through the current inventory and develop that which has ALREADY been approved. THAT will benefit the EXISTING taxpayers. Don't green flag that which is not needed thus making us pay for infrastructure that is only necessary because our leaders refuse to stop the insanity.

I wish each and every one a blessed and happy holiday.

Profile of Darkness

The young red-shoulder hawk was back again today sitting atop the 4-1/2 foot wooden fence overlooking the terrain. I thought maybe he was scouting for palmetto bugs or perhaps rodent… something I would be happy to see go. I was just about to snap a photo when (s)he swooped down and tried to grab one of two doves milling about some 30-40 feet away. He missed the one, but appeared to have tagged the other who then seemed unable to fly. The poor dove banged into the side wire fence but did make it over and into some vegetative cover. I ran to see if I could help the poor thing, but I merely made it more frantic so I backed off. I walked along the fence line trying to find where the hawk had gone. When I looked up, a the dark shadow was sitting on my neighbor's power line.

The dove must have been hopping along and warning its compadres because all of a sudden a flock of doves quickly dispersed with the flapping of wings, startling me in the process. Hopefully they got themselves into a safe haven. The dark shadow will just have to find something other than squab for dinner.